XT-FDC project level of interest

[sparky4]

fjsadkfjskda;lf dsa;klf lkdsa fs


I really wish there was a better floppy controller card for the XT!

 

[ibmapc]

fjsadkfjskda;lf dsa;klf lkdsa fs

Huh? Not enough vowels. I can't understand what you are trying to say.

 

[sparky4]

Sorry i was spazzing out on the keyboard

 

[wesleyfurr]

Has there been any additional work done on the ROM drive functionality for this board?

Thanks,

Wesley

 

[modem7]

Has there been any additional work done on the ROM drive functionality for this board?

Not that I am aware of.

 

[wesleyfurr]

Darn... Just picked up a PCB to build one and was hoping perhaps someone had still been working away on that side of the project. I'd be interested in giving it a try, but unfortunately, I know pretty much nothing about doing that sort of programming...

Thanks,

Wesley

 

[nc_mike]

Love the idea of combining an XT-IDE and a high-density FDC, and even better if the extra logic is added that allows the XT-IDE to work in Slot 8 (I have one that does, but most XT-IDE's are missing the extra circuits). Doing this eliminates a common BIOS conflict (the XT-IDE BIOS unnecessarily uses to large a memory space that conflicts with some high-density FDC's BIOS). And, with Slot 8 support, such a card would save the average user 2 full slots and they'd not have to do mods like I had to do to deal with BIOS address conflicts.

Regards,
Mike

 

[modem7]

Has there been any additional work done on the ROM drive functionality for this board?

Not that I am aware of.

Darn... Just picked up a PCB to build one and was hoping perhaps someone had still been working away on that side of the project. I'd be interested in giving it a try, but unfortunately, I know pretty much nothing about doing that sort of programming...

I do not have suitable contents for the ROM drive, but I can contribute something.

I was one of the testers of the XT-FDC card, and to help evaluate the electronics of the ROM Drive functionality, I created a DOS program to:
1. Erase the 29F040 chip (erase the ROM Drive).
2. Bring a chosen 8 KB page (1 to 64) within the 29F040 into the 8 KB window of the XT-FDC. [Default page at power on is page #1]
3. Show electronic signature (device ID) of 29F040 chip.
4. Show protection status of 29F040's eight sectors.

I have made the program pretty, renamed it to XTFDC_RD.EXE, and placed a copy of it at [here].

Known issue #1

Sometimes when erasing the 29F040 chip, one of the eight sectors fails to erase. A retry usually works.

Known issue #2

No ability to program the 29F040 from a file. I had started the coding for that, but discovered that the operation was taking about 100 times longer than it should have. I aborted that because my EPROM programmer had the ability to program the 29F040.

The write slowness is something that I will look into later.

 

[eeguru]

I do not have suitable contents for the ROM drive, but I can contribute something.

I have similar code used for the IBM PCJr JR-IDE board. I don't have the same issues you are reporting with a SST 29F040 chip. You might want to quickly review it and make sure nothing is being done differently from your implementation. Public SVN is here:

https://www.retrotronics.org/svn/jride/trunk/

 

[chjmartin2]

I know this is an old thread, but I have an active need for a floppy controller that can be configured to use custom system settings because I cannot disable to primary floppy controller on the motherboard. Is there anybody making these or would be willing to sell me theirs?

 

[modem7]

I know this is an old thread, but I have an active need for a floppy controller that can be configured to use custom system settings because I cannot disable to primary floppy controller on the motherboard. Is there anybody making these or would be willing to sell me theirs?

About six months ago, someone was selling XT-FDC's on eBay, but I cannot see the listing anymore.

If you cannot source one locally, an option is for me to post you one from Australia. I cannot guarantee compatibility with your Vendex 888-XT.

 

[Chuck(G)]

Don't know about the XT-FDC, but the Micro Solutions Compaticard IV is very configurable (port, DMA, IRQ) and comes with appropriate software. You might want to look for one of those.

 

[chjmartin2]

About six months ago, someone was selling XT-FDC's on eBay, but I cannot see the listing anymore.

If you cannot source one locally, an option is for me to post you one from Australia. I cannot guarantee compatibility with your Vendex 888-XT.

I would happily take you up on that - happy to pay for it. I know it isn't a sure thing for compatibility, but the Microsolutions Compaticard goes for $700 to $3000 on e-bay, so, that's out for me at the moment!

 

[olePigeon]

I've discovered that the CompatiCard is not compatible with my 486's external cache. I had to disable it, otherwise it hangs.